EMERGENCY PHILIPPINES

Filipino Womens' Council and Defence for Children-Italy

The Filipino community residing in Italy has taken action, through the Filipino Women's Council and the Italian section of Defence for Children, to raise funds to support people affected by the super-typhoon-Haiyan Yolanda in 36 provinces in the Philippines. The typhoon Haiyan struck and devastated five Philippine Islands, particularly the islands of Leyte and Samar, leaving behind 4460 deaths and a large number of displaced persons. The funds will be allocated in support of affected families, particularly women and children. More information on the campaign are available at this link (in Italian).

The Filipino Women’s Council (FWC) was established in May 1991 by committed Filipino migrant women who volunteer their time to provide support for the social and psychological needs of Filipino women in Rome.

The demand for support included many forms of counselling employer/employee relations, marriage conflicts, sexual exploitation and rape incidents, labour and other legal issues, etc.

The experiences brought about a further sense of the need to learn more about and understand better the Italian legal, medical and social systems.

FWC’s principal project was the opening, in October 1992, of a centre that provided shelter and counselling services to Filipino women who were victims of violence and exploitation.

The shelter project also accommodated migrant women from other countries of origin through referrals from other migrant women’s organizations in Rome. Unfortunately, it closed down after two years of operation due to lack of financial resources and inadequate technical competency of its staff members.